6 admit, rather not admit, but exultingly proclaim, that the revelation vouchsafed to us Christians, contains promises and prophecies of its own universal extent and dominion. These promises and prophecies, indeed, are scattered through the book of life with no sparing hand, but greet us with their delightful voices on every side; and cold must be that heart, and insensible that spirit, which does not often turn with a trembling and almost feverish exultation, from the dreary intercourse of daily life,'--from the present, where the Redeemer reigns with a divided sway over careless and worldly hearts, to the future, where his throne shall be established in righteousness, over a redeemed, a happy, and a heavenly-minded world. We must, indeed, rejoice to remember the direct and glorious promise, that the light of the Gospel is to shine throughout the world; the direct and positive command, that every creature should be baptized into the name of the Redeemer; the clear declaration, that it is the desire of the Father, that every knee should bow at that holy name, and that it is to his glory, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord *. We have the sure word of prophecy to tell us, that the knowledge of the Lord shall one day cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea; we have the ex * St. Matt. xxviii. 19. Phil. ii. 10. gross heathenism unenlightened, and infidelity unreclaimed * ?" These are assuredly, at first sight, grave and serious questions; and, although, when further examined, their importance is diminished, yet they contain so much likely to produce an impression on weak and wavering minds, that they well deserve consideration and reply. I shall, therefore, endeavour to show, that the apparent importance of these arguments is derived, not from their intrinsic value, but from certain unreasonable expectations and assumptions connected with them, respecting the progress of Christianity. It is always assumed, that that progress ought to be great and rapid+: whereas there is nothing, either in Scripture or the nature of things, which can justify us, in expecting any, but a slow and laborious advancement of our religion; and a little reflection will show, that, though the leaven is to leaven the whole three measures of meal, it is doing a work as effectual and as necessary, when completing its salutary operations on one portion, as when commencing them on others. The observations which I have to offer, will arrange themselves under two principal heads. It will be my first business to show, what it is *Davison on Prophecy. + Notes and Illustrations to Chapter I. No. 2. reasonable to expect from Christianity; and I shall then inquire, whether those reasonable expectations have been fulfilled. The more important, however, of these questions, as regards the objections I have noticed, is undoubtedly the first; and it will be my endeavour now, to set those objections in their true light, by pointing out the obstacles, which, in a world so constituted as ours, will ever be found ready to retard the progress of religious and moral improvement. The result of the statement will be, I think, a conviction, that, in considering the claims of Christianity, it is our business to inquire, rather, whether the tree of life is growing, than whether its growth has been rapid, or whether it has as nearly attained its full dimensions, as a hasty judgment may decide that it should have done. First of all, then, let us examine what it is right to expect from Christianity, when regarded as setting forth a claim to be considered as a divine revelation? For the greater share, of the perplexity of the believer, and of the fancied triumph of the infidel, would seem to arise from a mistaken, or rather an indefinite, notion of the influence of the divinity of the revelation in its progress. There appears to be a tendency on both sides, to believe, that truth, if revealed by God, must, from that circumstance alone, possess an extraordinary 14 THE GOSPEL IS TO BE PROPAGATED BY HUMAN MEANS. * and unlimited power of recommending itself to the acceptance of those to whom it is offered. Now, that the Almighty Ruler of the human heart might arm any truths which he is pleased to reveal, with these powers of winning or enforcing their own acceptance, is unquestionably certain; but it must be remembered, that such powers would be in fact miraculous; and that they would, therefore, supply a decisive test, which must, at once, have closed or prevented the argument. No real friend of revelation, however, would ever urge such a claim on her behalf, and no candid adversary can feel himself justified in requiring it †. It is, clearly, not our business to inquire, what the Deity might have done, but what he has done. And when we inquire what he really has done, we find, that the view presented to our consideration by the advocates of Christianity is simply this;-that God was pleased to make known to us certain truths concerning our salvation; to support them, at their * Erskine, after noticing the various ways in which men escape from the force of arguments brought against them, (as, for example, inability or unwillingness to apprehend them) adds, very justly, Thus it fares often with human arguments, nor do the arguments of God escape a similar fate.' Evidences, p. 90. + The reader will find in the Notes and Illustrations to Chapter I. No. 3. some powerful reasons urged by various writers, why Christianity could not be so well thus propagated. CHRISTIAN TRUTHS TAUGHT LIKE OTHER TRUTHS. 15 first promulgation, by such departures from the common order of nature, as were sufficient to establish their truth and their divinity; and, afterwards, to leave them to work their own way, under his protection indeed, but wholly and solely by human instrumentality. It will not be supposed, that I speak here in forgetfulness or neglect of that assisting and illuminating grace of God, which will be given in return to prayer; and without which, as we can neither think nor do such things as be rightful, so we can assuredly neither perceive nor accept the great truths of the scheme of redemption. I speak not of any aid of a supernatural kind which may be obtained, but of a supernatural aid actually and necessarily attached to the truths of Revelation. I deny the existence of such aid; and, under that impression, affirm, that the truths of Revelation are not in kind distinguishable from any other truths addressed to the acceptance or rejection of the human mind. They are truths, not discoverable, indeed, by human reason, but yet addressed, like other truths, to human apprehension; though many of them, as they regard the operations of the Deity, must, like all speculations on that awful and mysterious subject, far exceed the limited comprehension of the human intellect *. This, then, being the nature of the truths of Chris * See Notes and Illustrations to Chapter I. No. 4. |